Chicago Bears News: Justin Fields is finally QB1 moving forward

The Windy City just got one step closer to becoming the WINdy City.

After weeks of controversy surrounding the Chicago Bears starting quarterback situation, head coach Matt Nagy has finally given up on his obsession with starting Andy Dalton under center.

Dalton missed the last two weeks with a knee injury. Rookie QB Justin Fields started Week 3 and Week 4 in place of Dalton and while their Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns shouldn’t even count given how pitiful the offensive line performed, Fields looked quite solid in the Bears win over the Detroit Lions last week.

Of course, it’s still only the Lions.

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that Justin Fields would be the Bears starting quarterback moving forward, regardless of Andy Dalton’s health.

Not long after the game, Nagy announced that Dalton would remain the Bears starter as soon as he was healthy.

That didn’t go over well with fans and social media, who had already been questioning the decision to start Dalton at the beginning of the season.

The debate finally came to a close on Wednesday, as Nagy announced in his press conference that Fields would be the permanent starter moving forward.

The Bears head to Las Vegas this weekend to face a 3-1 Raiders team coming off of a 28-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Fields will face a Raiders defense that has only one interception. They’ve forced 3 fumbles and recorded 9.0 sacks.

Though certainly an improvement over Dalton in almost every aspect, Fields faces a significant challenge as the Bears have a tough stretch of games coming up.

After their matchup against the Raiders on Sunday, the Bears head home to face the 3-1 Green Bay Packers before jetting off to Tampa Bay to face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

It will be a good test for the rookie quarterback, but it’s important for Bears fans to not overreact regardless of how Fields and the Bears play over the course of the season.

It’s impossible to judge a quarterback’s ceiling after just one season (and especially a few games), especially given the Bears offensive situation.

Quite frankly, the offense around Fields is a mess.

Matt Nagy’s play-calling has been atrocious (though it was significantly better with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor calling the plays in Week 4).

The offensive line has been a turnstile in front of the quarterback.

Running backs Tarik Cohen and David Montgomery are both out for an extended period of time with injuries.

They lack receiving depth behind Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney.

That aside, it’s time for Bears fans to celebrate. Fields is an immediate upgrade at quarterback and automatically makes the offense more dynamic.

It’s quite possible that Matt Nagy just saved his job by making Fields the quarterback.

At least for now.